Pages in this set

Page 1

Direct opposite to right realism, key theorist is Jock Young (1980) developed as a direct
response to two main factors:

The need to take the rising crime rate seriously and to produce practical solutions
The influence of right…

Page 2

Kayleigh NobleTopic 4- Left RealismA2- Sociology

victims, especially of burglary, street crime and violence. Unskilled workers are twice as likely
to be burgled as other people.

Therefore disadvantaged groups have a greater fear of crime and it has a greater effect on
their lives. Fear of attack can prevent women…

Page 3

Kayleigh NobleTopic 4- Left RealismA2- Sociology

to receive spiritual comfort. Such religious subcultures may encourage respectability and
conformity. For left realists criminal subcultures still subscribe to the values and goals of
mainstream society such as material possession and consumerism. They just go about
gaining these possessions differently by resorting to…

Page 4

Kayleigh NobleTopic 4- Left RealismA2- Sociology

material wealth, whilst denying individuals the opportunity to achieve them through
legitimate means such as well-paid jobs.

A trend in late modernity is for relative deprivation to become generalised throughout
society rather than being confined to only those at the bottom. There is widespread…

Page 5

Kayleigh NobleTopic 4- Left RealismA2- Sociology

tactics, this alienates communities who see the police as victimising the youths. A vicious
circle is then created- locals no longer trust the police and don't provide them with any
information, so the police resort to military policing and so on.

Left realists argue…

Page 6

Kayleigh NobleTopic 4- Left RealismA2- Sociology

Their use of subcultural theory means that left realists assume that value consensus
exists and that crime only occurs when this breaks down.
Relative deprivation cannot fully explain crime because not all those who experience
it commit crime. The theory over predicts the amount…